Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify[a] you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Human beings consist of both body/flesh and soul/spirit. There is a physical and spiritual capacity that makes up every person. Some Biblical scholars are dichotomist- believing that soul and spirit are synonymous, while other Biblical scholars are trichotomist- believing that we are comprised of body, soul, and spirit. Regardless, when the Bible refers to “flesh” it is often not just speaking about the physical body of elbows and toes but of a natural and sinful nature (you must interpret the application of the word within the context of the passage and the verse). Lewis Sperry Chafer says “the word flesh refers to the physical body. It, however, has moral, or ethical, meaning as well. It includes the body, but it also includes the human spirit and soul as animating the body”.
Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Galatians 5:24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
The physical body is not inherently bad. Our bodies are created by God… though corrupted by sin. One day our physical bodies will die but the Christian will receive a new and glorified body in which we will inhabit for eternity.
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Romans 7:24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.
2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
Philippians 3:21 Who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
1 Corinthians 15:42-43 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
Our physical bodies are gifts given to us by God for us to use in service to Him. We are not bodies that happen to have a soul/spirit, but we are a soul/spirit that has a body. Some have called the physical body an earth suit. We are to value it, we are to be a good steward of it, we are to take care of it, but we are not to waste it or worship it. We can honor God with our bodies but the key to that is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit within us.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body [a]and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Although our body/flesh is not sinful the flesh/nature that lives within us is. We are not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners. The Bible states that we are born with a natural default condition that separates us from a holy God. We are sinners by birth and by choice. Somebody who does not know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord cannot help but to sin…. Because it is in their nature to do so. However, a Christian doesn’t have to sin because we have the Holy Spirit of God within us. We have both the flesh and the Spirit residing within us… until we get to heaven…. It is our job to choose obedience to the Spirit and to choose to crucify our flesh every day.
Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Galatians 5:16-17 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
You may have heard the fable of The Scorpion and the Frog. A scorpion that lived in the woods wanted to leave the forest and explore the world. Leaving its home for the first time, it came upon the banks of a raging river, but the scorpion could not swim. Spotting a frog, the scorpion asked the frog to carry it across on its back. The frog initially said no, fearing that the scorpion might sting and kill him. But the scorpion reasoned with the frog saying, “I won’t sting you, because if I do, we will both drown!” This argument seemed sensible to the frog who agreed to transport the scorpion. The frog began swimming with the scorpion on its back, but halfway across the river, the scorpion stung the frog anyway. The dying frog cried out, “You fool! Why did you do that? Now we are both going to drown!” The scorpion simply replied, “Sorry, it’s just my nature”
Like the scorpion, we all have a nature that will destroy ourselves and others. Scripture teaches that we are born with this earthly or sinful nature. Although we possess both body and spirit, unless we receive the Spirit of God and are transformed (regenerated) through faith in Jesus Christ, we will be stuck living according to our flesh/old nature. Our human spirit has no victory over our flesh. To state it simply, this means that if our spirit and our flesh duke it out, the flesh will win every time.
Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.
However, if you are saved you have the Holy Spirit, therefore you can choose to allow the Holy Spirit to conquer your flesh so that you can live in obedience and righteousness.
John 3:6-7 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
Romans 8:9-16 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [a]through His Spirit who dwells in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba,[b] Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
Let me close with an old, but apt illustration. It is a Cherokee legend, but it is loaded with truth: Once, and old man and his grandson were walking through the woods when the grandfather turned to the young man and said, “Young one, inside all of us there is a battle raging between two wolves. You have felt it even in your young years, and I have felt it all my life. One of the wolves is evil – he is anger, envy, greed, regret, arrogance, resentment, lies, hatred, and ego. The other is good – he is love, joy peace, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, compassion, truth, and faith. Everyone has this battle going on inside them.” They walked a little further in silence, until the young boy stopped and asked, “Grandfather, which wolf will win?” The wise, old man simply replied, “The one you feed.”
If this blog post has grabbed your curiosity and you would like to know more please pursue any/all of the below options:
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